SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Universal Basic Guys Season 3, Episode 4.
Universal Basic Guys Season 3, Episode 4 sees the FOX comedy get back to Mark Hoagies’ frayed relationship with his mom Rhoda in a very standard way: giving them a common enemy. “Oedipus Flex” is a classic sitcom plot, executed with Universal Basic Guys‘ shameless sense of humor. It may not be the funniest thing the series has ever done, but it’s a solid half-hour.
So much mileage has already been gotten out of the fact that Rhoda Hoagies believes Mark is a disappointment, as well as her unabashed tendency to favor Mark’s brother Hank. There’s only so much of that the writers can do before the audience gets bored. So “Oedipus Flex” takes the mother-son dynamic to its next obvious place. Rhoda and Mark face off against their rivals Gloria and Steve DelVecchio, who are naturally their exact opposites. Gloria and Steve have a relationship that’s too close, as opposed to Rhoda and Mark not being close enough. The contrast is where the humor is meant to come from.
Rhoda and Mark in this episode are akin to Linda and Louise Belcher from Bob’s Burgers. Linda and Louise have their rivalry with Cynthia and Logan Bush; Rhoda and Mark have the DelVecchios. In both cases, the rivals are considered to be “better” than the main characters, leading the heroes to step up their game. For Mark and Rhoda, that’s winning a dance contest that Gloria and Steve have won for the last several years. It takes a while for the absurdity of Universal Basic Guys to reveal itself, but when it does, it’s pretty funny. Andrea provides the duo with special exoskeletons from Humantis that will allow Andrea and David to control their dance moves. The audience knows this is going to go wrong, but just like the self-driving car from Universal Basic Guys Season 2, they don’t know just how wrong.
When Andrea and David’s dance gets more than a little risque, it’s one of those moments that’s both cringe-worthy and funny. Viewers want Mark to stop getting up close and too personal with his mom, and yet they also find it hilarious. And the cherry on top is the script finding a way to throw that Universal Basic Guys awkward twist in at the end. The contest ends in a tie, and of course both mother-son duos have to share the grand prize they’ve been fighting over, making this sort of win essentially meaningless.
The real benefit to this episode is seeing Mark and Rhoda do something other than constantly snark at each other, even if they’re faking it. Their relationship has to expand beyond their thinly veiled contempt for one another; the writers can’t just repeat that all season. (Rhoda handing Mark a mug that says “Decent Son” on it is a particular highlight.) One wonders if they’ll stay begrudgingly on the same page in the rest of Season 2, but the season would be stronger if they did.
The subplot in Universal Basic Guys Season 3, Episode 4 involves Tammy and her airheaded colleague Kardgen driving a liver to Buffalo for a transplant. It’s no surprise that the two find common ground along the way, nor is it a shock that they wind up losing the liver and having to recover it. The entire story is pretty well telegraphed, although Kardgen’s social media hashtag #OrganTrail is absolutely perfect.
What makes this bit worth watching is entirely Tammy. The audience knows she’ll help anyone in need, even while she’s trying to steal back the liver. Like several other moments on this show, Tammy and Kardgen coming to the rescue is both heartwarming and strange simultaneously. After all, as the latter points out, they caused the potentially fatal allergic reaction in the first place. It’s just a shame that the sequence stopped before it got to “Pam Poovey being allergic to soy” levels of hilarity.
“Oedipus Flex” offers up a new opportunity for Mark and Rhoda, as well as another road trip for Tammy. Its laughs aren’t quite so frequent or as outrageous as they could be, but the episode delivers all the jokes that the audience is waiting for and then some. If nothing else, viewers won’t be looking at Andrea and David the same way for a little while.
Universal Basic Guys airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Photo Credit: Courtesy of FOX.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
